Protect
by A. Windsor
Summary: "Callie and Arizona haven't stopped holding hands since the parking lot." Season Six finale aftermath.


Title: _Protect_

Author: A. Windsor

Pairing/Characters: Callie/Arizona

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. My one semester of law school could allow me to legalese this a little more, but it also tells me it's pretty useless. So please don't sue; it's not mine, I'm just playing!

Series: CANON (yes, you read that right)

Summary: Callie and Arizona haven't stopped holding hands since the parking lot. Season Six finale aftermath.

Author's Note:The muse, she's... nostalgic and angsty, I guess. Baby!fic at the end of the week to cheer everyone up, but here there be angst. Beta'd by the wonderful, snarky roughian. Thanks, you weirdy reindeer.

* * *

><p>Callie and Arizona haven't stopped holding hands since the parking lot. Callie doesn't think much of it at first; to say it's been a rough day is probably the understatement of the century, and she's just fine relishing the freedom to touch Arizona again, even if their PDA is fairly out of character in a professional context.<p>

She doesn't notice that it's overly strange until she tries to go to the bathroom at Seattle Presbyterian and Arizona holds on even tighter to her hand.

"Arizona," she laughs. "I really have to pee."

Arizona shakes her head, and Callie notices how much Arizona's entire demeanor has changed in the last few hours of checking on patients and colleagues. Gone is the confident (if a little desperate) woman declaring her love for her in a parking lot.

"If I let you go," Arizona admits, fingers tight around Callie's, "you're going to do something stupid again."

"What?" Callie asks, her laugh dying on her lips, one hand moving to Arizona's cheek as she pulls them into a mostly deserted hallway.

"Something stupid like stepping in front of the man with the gun."

"Oh, Arizona," Callie pulls her into her arms, feeling her collapse against her, boneless, crying. "Shh, shh. Let's go home."

* * *

><p>Arizona <em>shakes<em> like a leaf the whole way to the apartment, and it starts to really worry Callie. She considers turning around to get her checked out at Presbyterian, but Arizona keeps giving her these half-smiles and her eyes seem clear, if teary. Callie decides it's important to just get her home.

In the apartment, the first thing Callie does is lead Arizona to the bathroom and start the shower. She strips Arizona's scrubs from her gently. It's not the way she wanted to peel the clothes from her lover's body for the first time since their reunion, but it does seem to help Arizona start to relax.

Callie puts Arizona into the shower and then undresses quickly, joining her. She wraps her up from behind, placing methodical yet reverent kisses up her spine and across her shoulders as the hot water beats rhythmically against their skin. The water mixes with Arizona's warm tears and washes them away, the horror of the day swirling around their feet and down the drain as the stream from the showerhead cleanses it from their bodies.

Callie savors the intimate contact, even if there is none of their usual heat to it. Showers, chaste or otherwise, were just one of the many things on the long list of things she thought she'd never experience after their breakup.

"Don't ever do that again," Arizona's hoarse whisper interrupts Callie's musings. "Calliope, I really can't live without you."

"_And our ten kids,"_ rings in Callie's ears, but this is neither the time nor place to discuss the hope that Arizona offered in that parking lot.

"Everything's okay, Arizona," she says softly, rubbing shampoo into her tender scalp. "Nothing happened to me."

"Promise," Arizona demands.

"Close your eyes," Callie says gently as the suds begin to wash from those blonde locks. "You'll get soap in them."

Arizona obeys, tipping her head back.

"Promise me," she repeats.

"Arizona," Callie sighs, resting her forehead against the back of Arizona's head, holding her tightly. "I can't promise that. I can't promise that I won't protect you."

A shudder tells her Arizona is crying again, and Callie just holds on tight.

* * *

><p>When the hot water finally runs out, Callie wraps them both in warm towels. Finally face-to-face, Callie studies her, silently, and Arizona grins, just a little.<p>

"Sorry."

"For what?" Callie reproaches, tugging the towel around Arizona's shoulders while the blonde shivers in the air conditioning. She looks not unlike a little girl fresh from the bath. (Maybe one of those ten she promised and Callie can't stop imagining.)

Arizona opens her mouth, but Callie fixes her with a stern gaze.

"_I love you_," she promises, the weight of the day making everything flow more freely from her. "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. Are you?"

Arizona shakes her head earnestly. An Arizona Robbins short on words is an Arizona Robbins that really worries Callie.

"Okay. Good. It's been a really long day; let's get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

Callie finds some pajamas for Arizona, who quickly puts them on, still shivering. It's a painful reminder that Arizona no longer has any of her stuff here, but the ache is soothed by the wonderful sight of the woman she never stopped loving wrapped in her 'Canes sweatshirt and Batman pj pants.

Callie quickly clears away the multiple boxes' worth of tissues on the bed into the trashcan. Arizona makes no comment, offering this little wane smile every time Callie looks up at her. Callie climbs under the rumpled covers; they haven't been washed in several weeks, which is probably pretty gross, but she couldn't stand the thought of washing away Arizona's scent.

Arizona hesitates, biting her lip, knees bumping the edge of the bed.

"Are you coming?"

"What if he-"

"He didn't, Arizona. I'm okay, you're okay, Ruby is okay."

"What were you thinking?"

It isn't harsh or accusing or demanding; her question seems to be driven by honest curiosity that shines in her eyes.

"I wasn't," Callie answers easily. "There was danger, and there was you. It wasn't a choice; there _wasn't_ one."

Arizona blinks back fresh tears. "But..."

"Tomorrow. Tonight, just get in bed. Please."

That's enough for Arizona to move forward and slide under the sheets. She leans over and kisses Callie quickly, warmly, eyes drifting shut before she pulls away. She settles in on Callie's shoulder and whispers:

"I love you, too."

Within moments she is asleep.

* * *

><p>Callie half-dozes, hyper aware of Arizona's fragile state, when she hears Arizona's phone ringing in her purse. She carefully extricates herself from Arizona's embrace without waking her and hurries to stop the noise before it totally breaks their peaceful bubble.<p>

She decides to answer the phone when she sees Teddy's name pop up on the screen.

"Hey, Teddy," she says softly, leaning against the kitchen island, trying her best to keep an eye on Arizona, though the angle is awkward.

"Callie," Teddy answers, sounding relieved. "Oh, thank god. You have her."

"Yeah," Callie breathes, and she's never letting go again. "We're at my place. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just leaving Seattle Pres now, and I wanted to check in. I hadn't seen her. Are you two okay?"

"I'm good," Callie promises, and it's surprisingly true. Maybe the other shoe will drop later, but she's been so focused on Arizona that she hasn't thought often of the horrors of today.

"And Arizona?"

Callie thinks back to the warm kiss and clear smile Arizona managed for her right before drifting off into sleep.

"I think she will be. How's Karev? I know she'll ask when she wakes up."

"He'll pull through. Lunch tomorrow?"

"Anywhere but the hospital," Callie grimaces.

"Okay. I'll call you in the morning. I'm really glad she's with you, Callie."

"Me, too."

Callie hangs up and sets Arizona's phone on silent just in time for her to hear whimpers from the other room. She quickly drops the cell back into Arizona's purse and runs back to bed.

"Hey. It's okay. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

She gathers Arizona back up in her arms and feels her start to calm herself back into sleep. It's a skill she's perfected in the last year, and before they broke up, she used to do it half-asleep on nights when Arizona's nightmares of tiny coffins got too bad. She doesn't know how conscious of it Arizona really is, but a few well-placed words, kisses, and strokes can return her to sleep within minutes. It only takes slightly longer tonight.

Callie finally manages to sleep without seeing the vacant look of Mr. Clark's eyes against her own lids and sleeps the dreamless sleep of the exhausted.

* * *

><p>Having gone to bed relatively early, both awaken only just past sunrise, still tangled together, face to face. Callie brushes messy curls from Arizona's eyes, a little shocked to once again be waking up with her.<p>

"Did it really happen?" Arizona asks, voice barely above a whisper, husky with sleep.

It all comes back to Callie, and she closes her eyes against it while nodding.

"I mean, I'm here," Arizona continues, and Callie's just so happy to hear her talking again. She keeps her eyes closed to just enjoy the sound. "I'm here, which means either none of it happened, or all of it did."

"All of it."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't."

"No. I'm sorry. I froze. I didn't... I didn't protect you. That's not who I am."

Callie's eyes pop open.

"Sometimes I get to protect you."

"Calliope..."

"It's okay. It's over. Alex is going to make it; Derek is going to make it. We lost some great people, yes, but we're okay. And we're," she puts a hand over Arizona's heart, "_we_ are here. We're us."

"We were never not us."

Callie manages a smile as Arizona speaks the truth she'd felt in her heart all along. Callie doesn't think she'll ever be able to get over this woman, and certainly not seeing her every day at work. Maybe if Arizona moved continents. Maybe.

"I grew up with guns," Arizona reveals, fingers threading through Callie's hair. "Locked up in my house, on the hip of my dad, of his friends, of the Marines that just lived their lives on the base with a gun close at hand. I'm used to guns. But not..."

"Out of context."

"I know what a gun can do, Callie. I've shot them, plenty of times, received endless lectures on the importance of always maintaining control of a firearm. I was... not in control of that gun."

"And Ruby was there."

"And you. Callie, if he'd..."

"Stop it," Callie orders, her tone probably a little too harsh. "Stop the what-ifs. He didn't." She takes Arizona's face in her hands, willing her to understand. "He didn't."

"Neither did I."

"Arizona..."

"You weren't protecting me, because if he had killed you, I would be dead anyway."

"We're not dead," Callie says firmly. She kisses Arizona, hard. "We're alive. Both of us. Safe." She kisses her again. "We'll protect _each other_ from now on."

Arizona pulls away to meet her eyes, fingers searching for purchase at her hips.

"We're alive," Callie promises again.

Arizona tugs her closer, hands roaming, as she lowers her mouth to press kisses along Callie's lips, cheek, jaw, ear.

"Prove it."

Callie rolls on top of her and tries her hardest to do just that.

* * *

><p>el fin<p> 


End file.
